Alexandria, VA – NAS announces the 40 participants selected to join Creative Community Fellows: New England in 2026, marking a historic milestone of the program’s first year hosting two cohorts.
Created to empower, support, and connect visionary cultural leaders driving transformative change throughout the region, Creative Community Fellows: New England is a personalized, cohort-based learning experience that strengthens participants’ ability to lead work rooted in community. In an exciting program first, 2026 will welcome two cohorts instead of one, doubling the number of leaders participating. Each cohort is comprised of 20 fellows and journeys concurrently over the next eight months, with the full group coming together for a joint in-person gathering later this fall.
“Creative Community Fellows: New England is about investing deeply in people who use arts and culture to drive meaningful change,” said Sunny Widmann, Vice President, Programs and Partnerships at NAS. “We are thrilled to welcome these 40 extraordinary leaders into the program. Featuring two cohorts in a single year reflects both the strength of the work taking place across New England and NAS’s commitment to supporting leaders with the tools, relationships, and confidence to lead lasting change in their communities.”
Fellows enter Creative Community Fellows: New England with in-progress arts and culture projects that drive social or physical change. Over the course of the program, they build a strong community of practice while engaging in online gatherings and in-person retreats that support skill-building, leadership development, and collaboration. Fellows also take part in curated peer learning sessions, guided by a skilled NAS coach facilitator, to tailor the learning to their specific needs. Each participant will also gain access to a stipend of up to $10,000 to offset participation costs. Creative Community Fellows: New England is supported by Barr Foundation and, this year, is joined by New England Foundation for the Arts as an operations partner.
The projects in this year’s cohorts feature initiatives that preserve cultural heritage and celebrate underrepresented histories; creative strategies addressing public health, environmental resilience, and community belonging; and more. The 2026 fellows represent the breadth of creativity and leadership shaping the region’s cultural landscape.
“Barr Foundation has been honored to support Creative Community Fellows: New England since its inception, and we’re inspired by the profound ripple effects it has had across the region,” said SueEllen Kroll, Senior Program Officer at Barr Foundation. “This year’s expansion to two cohorts is a testament to a proven program model that strengthens leadership, builds durable networks, and fuels bold ideas that have the power to transform our collective future. We see this as an investment not just in 40 individuals, but also in the local communities in which they work.”
The announcement of the 2026 cohorts comes at a moment of transition for NAS. The organization recently shared that—due to a shift in federal tax status from public charity to private foundation—2026 will be NAS’s final year of operating in its current form. Learn more about this shift and NAS’s plan to make 2026 a deeply impactful year for arts and culture leaders.
NAS welcomes the following individuals to Creative Community Fellows: New England. Click the cohort names below to learn more about this year’s fellows.
Nabila Anandira | Somerville, MA
Christopher Battaglia | Belfast, ME
Vanessa Brewster | Greenfield, MA
Erdene Clark | Boston, MA
Joshua Collier | Brandon, VT
Julia Csekö | Somerville, MA
Jalix Delacruz | Boston, MA
Sumali Dey | Medford, MA
Yexandra Diaz | New Haven, CT
Luis Luna | New Haven, CT
Jay Mankita | Amherst, MA
Bridget Matros | Belfast, ME
Eli Nixon | Pawtucket, RI
Michael Peterson | New Britain, CT
Diana Popa | Burlington, VT
Jason Raymond | Burlington, VT
Yasamin Safarzadeh | Auburn, NH
Avi Salloway | Burlington, VT
Jennifer Volansky | Stowe, VT
Matthew Wilhelm | Manchester, NH
Mark Araujo | Boston, MA
Dzidzor Azaglo | Boston, MA
Dara Benno | Providence, RI
Tyler French | Hallowell, ME
Matthew Garza | Providence, RI
Sulagna Ghosh | Cambridge, MA
Ryan Hawley | Danbury, CT
Tom King | Somerville, MA
Una Lee | Johnson, VT
Jason Montgomery | Holyoke, MA
Clare Murray | Shelton, CT
Mauricio Ossa | Warren, RI
Ricky Rainbow Beard | Providence, RI
Sally Reed | Groton, MA
Kate Russell | Sedgwick, ME
Emily Schiffer | Provincetown, MA
Lee Schuette | Norwich, VT
Eliza Squibb | Providence, RI
Matthew Wolterding | Lowell, MA
Yolanda He Yang | Somerville, MA
Learn more about Creative Community Fellows at www.artstrategies.org/fellows.
